needed to meet a friend for lunch near her workplace; timbre+ seemed like the ideal location for the both of us, so we came over.
the place was buzzing, but we found seats pretty easily. prior to reaching i'd already decided on having portico platos, but of course, we still took a loop around the place to suss out the offerings. it seemed that the places with queues were the hawker stalls. in contrast, there was only one person ahead of me at portico platos.
i have a soft spot for paella, and they were offering it for really cheap for lunch, at just $6 (!). the paella flavour of the day was a curry chicken one, which sounded pretty interesting, so i went with that. they had an option to add extra chicken ($2) and roasted vegetables ($1.50). it was awesome that my bill came up to just $9.50. i waited around for a bit before i was served, and was pleasantly surprised by the generous portions. for the price, i would say it's excellent value for money.
of course, for the price, i wasn't expecting much. but... i was still expecting the food to be at least hot. is that too much to ask for? that aside, the paella actually tasted quite good. the rice was flavoursome, though i wouldn't really be able to tell it's curry if i hadn't been the one ordering it. the chicken was cooked really well- tender and juicy. for an extra $2, it was really worth it. the wedge of lemon served alongside helped to cut through the grease (the rice was a little on the oily side), though i still didn't manage to finish all the rice.
i liked the food, and would probably return for it, BUT i'd make sure to request for it to be warm.
portico platos
timbre+
#01-32
http://timbreplus.sg/community/portico-platos/
debated internally for a while between trying ash & char and having salad for lunch (i honestly stood there pondering, and someone i know walked by and asked me what i was doing there *awkward*). decided on ash & char in the end, since the menu looked suitably tempting. plus, they had a set lunch as well (just $5 extra for a soup and drink with any mains).
soup of the week happened to be roasted butternut, served with toasted sourdough. it seemed to be the one on their christmas special menu, which came with chestnuts and spiced crème fraîche. it came piping hot, like all soups should be, but the crème fraîche was mysteriously missing, replaced by what seemed like truffle oil. hmm... i'm not the biggest fan of truffle oil. the soup was also more watery than i'd expected, but it tasted alright. what i didn't like was the grilled sourdough- it seemed to have been brushed with truffle oil, and its taste was overpowering.
for my main i got the grilled chicken leg ($17), which came with charred broccolini, sweet potato crumble and king oyster mushroom. i was curious as to what was a sweet potato crumble, but it turned out to be just sweet potato mash. everything on the plate was spot on, though! the chicken leg was juicy and tender, with an almost crispy skin.
but my favourite of the plate was probably the king oyster mushroom, which had been grilled (?) until its exterior was almost crackly. the dish was finished off with a truffle chicken jus (!) but thankfully the truffle taste was nonexistent. the jus was pretty good, actually- it tied the dish together.
i finished off my meal with a coffee. strangely enough they don't do things like lattes or flat whites- the only option is espresso, with milk or without. i got a 7oz espresso with milk, which bordered on the bitter side. it was drinkable, but not something that i'd get again.
i liked my food enough that i'd return. they're having a christmas special of chicken roulade stuffed with sticky rice, and that sounds like it's worth a try. hopefully i can squeeze in a trip back before they take it off the menu.
ash & char
21 mccallum street
https://www.facebook.com/AshandChar/
chope was having a promo, offering $25 for the 3 course set lunch instead of the usual $35, so of course i had to go. it was, sadly, already the last day of the promotion when i went. the place wasn't packed when i went, but there were a fair number of people (mostly caucasians).
i didn't want dessert, so i asked if i could have two starters instead, and they agreed readily. i took a while to decide which of the three starters i wanted, but eventually went with the mackerel and beetroot.
the food came quickly. the mackerel arrived first, all delicately plated in a heavy looking stone bowl. the mackerel itself was delicious and well cooked, with a crispy skin. didn't feel that the snow pea salad added anything to the dish, aside from aesthetics, though. couldn't discern the bacon dashi as well, but it was still yummy in its own right.
the beetroot starter came after i was done with the mackerel. it wasn't exactly what i'd envisioned. since the menu'd mentioned burrata, i was picturing a generous lump of it. salted & hung's version was a more delicate one. i liked the combination of flavours- creaminess from the cheese, sweetness and freshness from the beetroot and truffle honey, combined with pops of bitterness from the pine nuts. i cleaned it up in no time.
i was still hungry after i was done with two starters, so i was already thinking that i'd be having to get something else to eat. it turned out that i didn't have to worry- the main was a hearty portion of beef cheek on polenta.
the beef cheek had been braised until it was super tender, and there were quite a number of generous chunks. i've always had a soft spot for polenta, so that hit the spot as well. there were ribbons of pickled daikon on top of the beef, which added a freshness.
i was served a complimentary warm oatmeal cookie with salted caramel on top when i was done with my meal. that was a nice touch! the cookie was delicious- chewy and not too sweet. i especially liked the hit of salt in the caramel.
the food wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but all the items i had were executed well. probably wouldn't go out of the way to return, but i wouldn't mind going back to try their sangas. service was attentive as well. all in all, it was a pretty good lunch.
salted & hung
12 purvis street
http://www.saltedandhung.com.sg
i have to admit that SPRMRKT was never exactly on my to-try list... until chope came up with the chope x visa promotion, offering $10 off each meal above $30 for the month of october. SPRMRKT happened to be on the list of cafés offering that promotion, so i decided to just make a booking to try it out, since it was one of the few places that were a) accessible and b) i hadn't tried.
they have daily specials, which is cool, and an all-day breakfast menu that stays throughout the week. it was a monday when i went- i was expecting pork ribs for the daily special, according to the chope website. when i got there, however, i realised it'd been changed to a chicken, mushrooms and spinach roulade ($19)- even better! (side note: the chope website for menus seem to be slightly outdated most of the time, so it's probably better to check with the restaurants themselves. i found sprmrkt's website updated with their current menu.)
so it was an easy choice for me. i got the chicken roulade and decided to add on $8 to make it a set lunch, which included a small soup of the day and a large hot coffee of my choice. ordering was done at the counter. pricing was nett, but they still brought my food over when it was ready. water was freely available in jugs in a corner. i liked how they offered two types of water- a regular one, and another with mint and lemon (of course i picked the one with mint and lemon). it's a nice touch, really.
i ordered a flat white, and it came first. when they said large, they really MEANT large. i was surprised by its size, and it only goes for $5 if you order it a la carte. i got it with soy milk at no extra charge.
the soup came slightly after. the soup of the day was beef, barley and tomato. i was expecting just a token amount of beef, but they were generous with it- there were at least five good sized chunks. the soup itself was tangy, delicious and appetite-whetting.
i had to wait for quite a while before the chicken roulade arrived- i was done with my soup by then. i had time to spare that day, so i didn't mind, but i can imagine getting antsy waiting if i was in a hurry. the chicken roulade was worth the wait, though!
the roulade was succulent and tender- delicious paired with the gravy that they'd ladled generously on top. the accompanying (super large) potato croquette was really good as well. it had an utterly crisp and light exterior, with fluffy mashed potato within. the balsamic glazed greens provided a freshness and sweetness to the dish, completing the dish. i found the dish well balanced, and of course, extremely well portioned. i was stuffed and satisfied by the end of the meal.
food was surprisingly good! i went with no expectations but left feeling really pleased. good meals make my day! SPRMRKT is definitely on my to-go-back-to list now.
SPRMRKT
2 mccallum street
http://www.sprmrkt.com.sg
having had a pretty good meal the last time i was there, i was lured into returning to south union park because they'd introduced a weekday set lunch. at $18 for two courses and $21 for three, it seemed to be value for money.
i was there at almost two in the afternoon, and the place was empty save for one other table. there were two choices for each course, but it was an easy decision. to start i got the smoked tomato soup. it came piping hot and was utterly delicious. it was tangy, singing of tomato; the perfect start to a meal. this set the tone for the meal, and i was excited about the following courses.
for mains, it was a choice between fried chicken burger with cajun fries and a beef brisket cavetelli. they had me at beef brisket- of course i got the pasta. like the tomato soup, it came piping hot. the first thing that hit me once i was served was the hit of parmesan- and that sent my mouth watering. i was expecting it to be more pasta than meat, as with most pasta dishes. this one, however, surprised me with its equal proportion of beef and pasta, so each bite i took was perfectly balanced.
it was such a generous portion that i was already satiated by the time i was done with half the plate, but i couldn't stop eating until i'd cleaned the plate. and that, i think, is the biggest compliment i could give. it was so good- i loved the bite of the al dente, handmade cavatelli, how tender the shredded beef was, and that punchy sauce.
i was already extremely full by the time i finished the pasta, but there was still dessert, and of course, i willingly stretched my stomach for that. i picked the banana bread over the compressed fruit medley, because BANANA BREAD. it came with salted caramel ice-cream, but i requested for it to come without. they meant it when they said warm banana bread- it was indeed toasty and warm. not the most spectacular banana bread, but i like banana bread in almost all forms, and it was a serviceable one, especially since it came deliciously warm. paired with the caramelised banana and buttery crumble, i had no problems wiping the plate clean. even the coffee that they served was no afterthought- it was aromatic and paired really well with dessert.
i loved how they'd put so much thought into each course. everything was obviously made with care. i'd come back in a heartbeat just for the beef brisket cavatelli. highly recommended.
south union park
101 jalan kembangan
https://www.facebook.com/southunionpark/
i was excited about trying out fyr's brunch menu, because they had something called baked blinis. given my recent obsession with all forms of blinis and how hard it is to actually find them, i was really looking forward to trying it. it seemed that blinis and i really have no fate- when i got to the restaurant, the waitress told me apologetically that they'd since scrapped the brunch menu. what they had, instead, was a three course set lunch for $25, and the a la carte menu.
the three course set lunch looked alright, but i was there for blinis, and they were nowhere to be found. i was contemplating leaving, but i was hungry and it was already pretty late for lunch, even for me. so i decided to ask if they could give me two starters instead of a starter and a dessert- if they could, i'd stay. happily enough they were flexible enough to allow that.
the first starter to arrive was the pork belly, prettily presented on a flat black plate (kind of hard to eat from, though). the pork belly came complete with crispy crackling and a sticky balsamic glaze. i found myself mopping up the balsamic glaze with the pork belly- really, really good. i usually find myself picking out the fat bits because it's way too overwhelming, but in this rendition i cleaned it all up, because the ratio of fat to meat was just right; enough not to be scary. loved the barley risotto and pickled vegetables that came with it, too. perfect balance.
the other starter that i picked was the seared salmon fillet. the salmon was alright, but the pork belly definitely outshone it. the salmon came with cous cous and a mixed citrus salsa- a little heavy-handed with the salsa, but everything was cooked to perfection.
while i was having my starters, the waitress suddenly came by, surprising me by putting a slice of chocolate cake on my table. apparently it was the chef's birthday! a really nice touch, actually.
my main, a duck confit, came a while later. it was a tossup between the seabass fillet (400g!) and the duck confit, but i'm glad i decided on the duck in the end. it was cooked really well, with a thin, crackly skin and super juicy meat. the best part, however, was that the sides were really good as well-crispy little potatoes, caramelised onions, and a well-dressed salad. interestingly enough there was a wasabi sauce in a little pot as accompaniment, and i found myself dipping both the duck and the potatoes in it. yum.
i still wish they'd kept the brunch menu- given the food i'd had, i'm pretty sure whatever the kitchen churns out will be of a certain standard. i was pleasantly surprised by the food i had. came with no expectations whatsoever (other than wanting to have the really elusive BLINIS) and was really happy with everything i got. i'd come back for the set lunch, just so i can try the other mains.
fyr cycene ond drinc
19 boon tat street
https://www.facebook.com/FYRBTS/#
not my first time at sacha & sons- i went when they just opened with R. it has been a while (is it a couple of years now?). i remember over-ordering (as usual) and liking everything we got, but it was the grilled reuben that i remember being particularly enamoured with. having been to katz in new york, it did measure up, but of course, new york portions are still heartier. so of course, when i decided to revisit sacha & sons, it was with the grilled reuben in mind.
came by for a weekday lunch, so the place was comfortably quiet. i got a corner table, was given a menu, and was told to order at the counter. strangely enough, though, they do charge for service- i vaguely remember that they didn't use to.
there was a set lunch available- half sandwich with half salad or soup, so that was what i went for. of course i got the grilled reuben with pastrami ($20), adding on an extra $2 for the smoked trout salad. there was a choice of either rye or brioche with the grilled reuben, and having tried the rye i decided to get the brioche (even though i really liked it with rye the other time).
turned out to be wrong choice- rye really goes much better with the grilled reuben. not that the brioche was bad, though. personal preference, i suppose. i also remembered them to be more generous with the meat- the meat-to-bread ratio this time was much less (not sure whether it's because of the thickness of the brioche?). it was still an okay grilled reuben, though. my half sandwich came with coleslaw, pickles and the smoked trout salad, all of which i liked. it was surprisingly filling. i ended up being REALLY full after the sandwich... but i'd ordered the blintzes ($12) as dessert (because i have an obsession with blinis after having really good ones in berlin, of all places).
i was expecting empty blini wraps with sour cream and homemade jam on the side, and was expecting to assemble my own wraps. what came, though, were two pillowy parcels filled stuffed with ricotta. i was really full, but it was so good that i finished all of it (and nursed a food baby). i particularly liked that it wasn't sweet. the ricotta got to be a bit much in the end, though, so i left some of it. surprisingly enough i really liked the homemade jam. usually i leave jams untouched, but this one was different- more sour than sweet, adding acidity.
what i didn't like, though, was the service. i probably spent ten minutes waving and trying to get their attention so that i could get them to refill my water and serve dessert, before i gave up and went over to the counter. i managed to get a waitress's attention once (she looked in my direction and nodded) but she got distracted by a complaining customer, and never remembered to get back to me. it's ridiculous to be paying for service and yet be getting none- that's one of my pet peeves.
still, the blintzes were good enough to warrant a return. it's really hard to get blinis in singapore, i realise, so i'll take what i can get. it reminded me of what i had in a polish restaurant, but it was labelled as polish pancakes there. i'd probably share it next time, though- it's way too much for one person (even a glutton like me).
sacha & sons
mandarin gallery
#03-02
http://sacha-deli.com.sg
strangely enough, i've never been to saveur. i remember going to the purvis street outlet a couple of years ago, but we were turned off by the wait, and so, headed off to eat thai food instead. french food, i suppose, has never been high on my to-try list. i finally got tempted to try saveur art, the atas version of saveur, after receiving an email from chope- pay by visa and get $10 off with minimum $30 spent.
i made a reservation for a weekday lunch. it was smaller and quieter than i'd expected, but not complaining- all the more i could have a leisurely lunch. the $29 3-course set lunch was a pretty good deal, but i didn't want dessert, so i asked if i could swap the dessert for another appetiser. sadly, they were quite rigid about it. i still ordered the set lunch, though, because if i'd ordered the two items i wanted a la carte i'd have to pay more, anyway. coffee/tea was for an additional $3, so i asked if i could have coffee in place of dessert, and they readily agreed! so that was a bonus.
i got the egg confit (extra $2) for my appetiser. i was expecting to wait, but it was served almost instantaneously. a perfectly runny egg lay atop a bed of truffled potato mousseline, with toasted macadamia nuts and fried crispy bits for extra crunch. they weren't kidding when they said truffle, too. the mousseline was super smooth, velvety and creamy- i wiped the plate clean. i loved everything about the plate, except the fried bits, which were too oily. would've gladly swapped those for more of the toasted macadamia nuts, because they were yum.
service was pretty attentive. my plate was cleared soon after i finished it, and water topped up frequently. i got the duck confit as my main, since that was basically what they're famous for. and it was as good as promised. super crispy and light skin- i usually remove the skin, but this was so crisp and delicious that i ate it all. something so light and crisp should have no calories anyway, right? every part of the dish worked well together, from the roasted potatoes, bacon bits, slightly sour cabbage (reminded me of sauerkraut, actually) to the flavoursome jus.
black coffee was the perfect finisher to my meal. i enjoyed every bite, and now i'm curious to check out saveur.
saveur art
ion #04-11
http://www.saveur.sg
on a whim, decided to go for lunch with my sister, who'd be in the bugis area. the plan, initially, was to eat at saveur, but since she'd been there before, i suggested platypus, which has been lounging on my to-try list for a bit. since it was a last minute decision, we had no reservations, but got a table easily.
made my decision on what to eat pretty quickly. zeroed in on the platypus brunch bowl, which had all the stuff i like. it was part of a brunch set, which included soup of the day and a drink for $22.90. my sister pondered over the á la carte menu for a while, deciding between the ribeye and truffle bowl ($26.90) and the salmon and ikura bowl ($25.90). investigating on instagram proved that the ribeye bowl was the better choice, so that was what she went with.
i was served my soup pretty quickly. the soup of the day turned out to be pumpkin, and a deliciously creamy one at that. portions were pretty generous, too! it was a good start to our meal, and i was expecting our mains to be served in quick succession.
sadly, that was not the case. we fiddled around with the things on the table, discovering some cards that are meant to be conversation starters- pretty cool. but that got old after a while, and i got restless. we probably waited for about half an hour, before i went to ask a waitress about our order, and only shortly after that, our food made an appearance. weird, given that they had a lot of chefs in the kitchen, and the place was probably just three-quarters full.
thankfully it was, on the whole, worth the wait. i could smell the truffle from the truffle and ribeye bowl once it was brought over to our table. i snuck a bite and quite liked it. my sister was pleased with her choice, and said that she liked it better than tanuki raw's. i haven't tried tanuki raw, so i'll take her word for it.
i was satisfied with my bowl, too. it is exactly the kind of thing i like, and my sister said as much. it came with ribeye, super crispy bacon bits, cheddar, sliced cherry tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts and an onsen egg on japanese rice. i was expecting the ribeye to be... well... more like steak slices, but it was more like beef strips. tried eating the bowl with its elements separate, before deciding to just mix it up together, and that worked out better. the only part of the bowl i didn't like was probably the rice- tasted more like regular rice than japanese. i'd still prefer ninja bowl for donburis, though.
i'd come back for more of their food, especially since they do set lunches!
platypus kitchen
bugis junction
#01-90
http://www.platypuskitchen.com/platypus-kitchen-bugis-junction/
sun with moon has been around for a long time, but oddly enough i've never been to the wheelock outlet. i think they used to have one at chijmes, and i did go there for dinner a long time ago. food was alright, but i wasn't impressed enough to return. it's one of those places that have generic japanese food, and i'm rarely tempted to go to such places, anyway. still, they were having a groupon (pay $40 for $60 worth of food) and i was going to be in town, so i came by for a late lunch with my friend.
we were there at about two, so no reservations were needed as the place was quite empty. managed to get a window seat, so lighting was awesome.
having browsed the menu online before i went, i was already half decided on the aburi kaisen chirashi kamameshi ($23.80, $26.80 with soup set). i can never say no when i see the words "aburi" and "chirashi". my friend tempted me when she decided on the seafood mix kamameshi (same price) which came with grilled eel, scallop, salmon and salmon roe. pretty similar to mine, but mine appeared to be the diced version, while hers was in whole pieces. the set also came with choice of three side dishes and free flow green tea- lunch sets are awesome! i got two servings of salmon sashimi and the avocado salad, while my friend got the salmon sashimi, tofu cheesecake and kurogoma pudding. asked about the difference between the normal set and the soup set- apparently the soup set meant that the meal came with a special soup instead of miso soup. the soup was supposed to be poured into the kamameshi to turn it into a chazuke. it sounded intriguing enough for both of us to decide on the soup set.
the food arrived after a brief wait, complete with an hourglass. we were only supposed to dig in after the one minute timer was up. kind of gimmicky, but okay, it was cute.
my kamameshi came served with tobiko, ikura and seaweed on the side, with the special bonito and kelp broth served in a mini kettle. and it was awesome.
i first had kamameshi in japan, and remembered loving it, but this was an even better version, probably because of the amount of ingredients it came with. the rice was delicious- sticky yet each grain was separate. there were chestnuts and mushrooms mixed into the rice, reminding of a lighter, less oily version of chinese glutinous rice. the best parts were perhaps the burnt bits that'd stuck to the iron pot. we found ourselves scraping it down just to eat it. i ate some most of it as it was, and only added the soup into the pot nearing the end. the soup transformed the rice- it was like chazuke, but better. it was especially good with the charred, crispy bits of rice, perhaps due to the difference in textures.
we left totally satisfied with the meal, promising to return. lunch is an especially good deal. snuck a peek at the dinner menu, and they offer the same things, but without the sides. i'd come back just for the kamameshi. okay, now i understand why sun with moon has survived for so long in the cutthroat restaurant industry
sun with moon japanese dining & café
wheelock place
#03-15
https://www.sunwithmoon.com.sg
after being in melbourne on holiday for two weeks, i really needed some japanese food- definitely no more cafés, for a while at least. remembered glancing through their menu and noticing that they had pretty well priced set lunches, so i suggested going there for lunch.
it turned out to be a really good choice. for $15.80 (before taxes and service charge) i got a pretty good portion of sashimi, especially compared to the rice. i love it when i have chirashi and the proportion of rice to sashimi is just right. there were much more fish cubes than rice, and i ended up with just fish (my favourite kind of problem). also loved the cut of the fish- one of my pet peeves is when they dice up the fish in a bara chirashi so much that i can barely taste anything, which pretty much defeats the purpose of having it.
the set also came with miso soup, an appetizer and chawanmushi. interestingly enough the chawanmushi had yuzu- i've never had that particular combination.
i'm definitely coming back here. this might be one of my favourite places to have bara chirashi now, given how reasonably priced it is and how generous they are. here's to hoping they maintain standards till my next visit.
kai sushi & robatayaki
plaza singapura #04-68
came by the first time and was less than impressed by their yuzu chirashi. decided to give them another chance because i had a sugar voucher for the tsukune with onsen egg, so i came by for their lunch.
got one of the lunch sets- the tori warayaki don ($15), which came with miso soup.
they are supposedly famous for their warayaki. the chicken came quite well cooked, tender and moist, slathered in a spicy-sweet, sticky sauce. what i didn't like, though, was the rice. it was way too wet, making it a weird combination with the chicken.
the tsukune came a while later. that alone was worth the visit. the tsukune was topped with a wobbly onsen egg and saffron threads, with spring onions at the side. it also came with a soy-based sauce, which went really well with the egg.
the egg yolk was glorious and runny, flowing the moment i cut into it. the whole combination worked really well together. portion wasn't stingy as well- it was a well-sized patty.
it was a rather pleasant meal- a step up from my previous experience. will be back for the tsukune with onsen egg. yum!
enbu 炎舞
#03-307 suntec city
https://www.facebook.com/enbusingapore
